National No Writing Month: Post-Season Wrap Up

101 Reasons has been running for just over a month now, and in that time I've not managed to stop a single bad writer. Instead, almost a billion perfectly innocent words have been combined into many tens of millions of bad sentences, on what would be millions of pages, were any of it fit to print. And they haven't finished counting yet.

The NaNo writers I've interviewed were rather gleeful about contributing to this global shame. So, what have we learned from them?

• Most of the interviewees agreed that their NaNo output is crap. Several were just using the experience as a form of logorrheic exercise, but most were prepared to sift through the crap later, looking for fibre and corn.
• Many also explained how NaNo was just a tool, a framework for focusing on writing - while posting wordcount updates on their blogs, and accepting congratulations when they got their "Winner!" web icon.
• Almost all expressed the opinion that NaNo brought "accountability"; that taking the challenge publicly provided motivation, and the threat of humiliation if you failed. However, the experiences of several interviewees proves that this just doesn't happen.
• Several agreed that "some people shouldn't write", without explaining why they weren't in that category.
• NaNo hasn't yet made enough of a splash in the publishing industry to become truly reviled.

Despite protestations of accountability and focus, it's clear that NaNo's primary function is to make participants excited about writing. It brings a sense of community to what is otherwise a solitary pursuit, and gives participants a platform to discuss their progress, and find validation in the shared goal.

Would that this actually led to better novels.

NaNoWriMo: The Interviews

My thanks to the NaNoWriMo participants who consented to be interviewed for this series, most of whom were fully aware that I wasn't taking them or their efforts at all seriously.

In case you missed any, here's a list of the interviewees:

• Simon Haynes, SF novelist
• Daniel Hatadi, crime short fiction writer
• Heather Dudley, Nano veteran
• Mike Toot, non-fiction writer
• S.Y. Affolee, Nano veteran
• Stephen Blackmoore, crime short fiction writer
• Liane Gentry Skye, non-fiction writer
• Special Guest: The Rejecter, literary agency assistant

Taken together, they form a shocking interesting perspective on NaNoWriMo, and a healthly suppository antidote to the usual tone at 101 Reasons, should you need one.

(Or you could just read the National No Writing Month: Post-Season Wrap Up.)

Special Guest Interview: The Rejecter on NaNoWriMo

While compiling the NaNo interviews I've been publishing this week, I had the bright idea to get the literary agent's perspective on NaNoWriMo, and the NaNos who submit their "novels" to agents in the first weeks of December.

I thought, of course, that it would open a floodgate of deliciously quotable sarcasm. But I forgot to consider the very thing that agents are infamous for. (Next year I'll send out hundreds of requests, months in advance. They'll love that.)

The one who did reply turned out to be, of all things, an enthusiastic NaNo participant.

The Rejecter is an assistant at a New York literary agency, which means she's the person who wades into the slushpile, looking for the scraps of usable driftwood. If you're wondering why you're in the 95% of submissions that get rejected immediately, read her blog. When you still can't figure it out, come back here and stop writing.

She posted her responses to this interview on her blog a few days ago. You can compare and contrast, and see where I've mangled edited her responses.

Regular readers of 101 Reasons will note the leading direction of my questions.

How did NaNoWriMo first appear on your radar?

I'm a writer myself and 2005 was the first year I participated because I heard about it through fellow unpublished writers. I have never heard of it at work and when I mention it, honestly, very few people know what it is.

NaNoWriMo, to my knowledge, has not hit the cultural consciousness of agents and the publishing industry yet, despite the publication of Chris Baty's (founder of NaNoWriMo) book, No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days. In the book he discusses how 50,000 words is not actually an acceptable length for an adult book, but he chose it because it was a more reasonable goal for people achieve. Most literary agents are looking for first -time novelists to keep their work in the 70k-100k range.

Have you received queries or submissions that have mentioned NaNoWriMo? If so, have any of these submissions been accepted for representation, or at least passed up the ladder?

If the agent would recognize it, they would actually probably pass on it, for a number of reasons. First of all, 50k is just too low unless it's YA or a children's book. Second, only the fastest writers can write a quality full-length novel in a month - most authors need a year. The speed at which it was written is an indication against it. Third, if they wrote it in November and they submit it in December or January, they obviously haven't done the heavy polishing any manuscript needs before it's ready to be submitted.

I honestly haven't seen anyone who has said they did the novel for NaNoWriMo, but as the program gains in popularity, I have no doubt that it will eventually start showing up in query letters and the agency world will collectively grown.

Is there a noticeable "spike" in queries or submissions, particularly for 50,000 word novels, in November to February?

Most people do NaNoWriMo for fun, and not everyone finishes. Serious writers who do it realize that they need time to revise and polish it - at least a few months. Besides, if a few extra queries come in during this time, we wouldn't notice. Query letters tend to spike in the fall, get heavy up until Christmas time, and then drop off again until about mid-January. This is because writers, like agents, are on vacation in the summer (August is notoriously the slowest month) and during the last week of December. They pick up again in February and March. Agencies review dozens, maybe hundreds of query letters a day. They're not going to notice a few more.

Do you believe that participation in NaNoWriMo is a "good thing" for inexperienced writers?

Yes. I have been writing all my life, but I found it to be a useful exercise, which is why I'm repeating it this year. To start blank on November 1st with only the vaguest book idea and then to try and produce massive amounts of material by November 30th is an experience that builds stamina and quick-thinking. I am always surprised how much the plot I might have planned will change as I go along.

Do you believe it creates unrealistic expectations for participants?

I don't think 1667 words a day (or something like that) is particularly crazy, but it's asking a lot of someone who doesn't want to write for a living and hasn't been writing for many years. Many people don't hit 50K, but the point is, they tried, and they learned. Also, November is generally a very busy month for just about everyone, with the school cycle being what it is and the holidays approaching. In his book, Baty discusses why he put it in November instead of a month like June or July. I don't remember precisely what he said off-hand and my copy of his book is not at-hand, but I think it was something about how the program teaches you how to make time for writing despite your schedule. If you have lots of time, you may not actually be as productive as if you have to set aside an hour a day and you sit down at the computer knowing you can't waste that hour sitting at the screen or you're screwed for the day.

If you were in charge of NaNoWriMo, what rules would you set or change?

I would give people a little star next to their username on the lists for every year they've succeeded in "winning" NaNoWriMo. That would make of my friends who have been hitting 50K every year more accomplished - because it is an accomplishment.

The notion that someone who reads queries for a living would still have faith in the principles of NaNoWriMo is truly astonishing.

Then again, the serious (or hopelessly ambitious) writers among may have noticed this little gem in there:

Agencies review dozens, maybe hundreds of query letters a day.

That's thousands a month, tens of thousands a year. Of which only 5% make it past the first filter.

Now if we could just get that other 95% to stop writing, or at least slow down ... would the publishing industry be a better place? Or would it just put The Rejecter out of a job?

Interview: Liane Gentry Skye on NaNoWriMo

Liane Gentry Skye is the kind of overachiever who makes you think twice about the amount of time you spend playing World of Warcraft or downloading porn. She's the author of Turn Around, Bright Eyes: Snapshots from a Voyage Out of Autism's Silence. She's a mother of four, runs a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the families of people with autism, and yet still found time to thrash the hell out of her keyboard this month.

She has, however, completely misunderstood the concept of NaNo. After writing 64,000 words of a 50,000 word novel, she started another novel and kept counting. Her total now stands at over 74,000 words, which is just silly.


How many times have you participated in NaNoWriMo?

This is my first nano attempt. I used to have a (real) life. Honest. I swear.

What value do you place on completing NaNoWriMo?

Making my first attempt to "Nano" has helped me finally focus on story and plot instead of obsessing over pretty prose. My fiction suffers from sagging middle syndrome. I could not plot my way out of a paper bag left to my typical writing preferences. Nano forced me to just break out of the gate and think action, reaction, tools, wordcount, got to keep going.

How did you reach the 50,000 words target in 19 days?

A thousand dollar bet from this really hot guy I married didn't hurt. :) He swears I'm going to help him retire someday with my writing. OK, so he says after two beers and a blow job, but hey.

Also, I made a promise to my daughter to Nano a book for her. I intended to keep that promise. I want her to see that finishing huge projects, even when it blows to do so, can lead to bigger and better things. So I trained for this all summer. By October, I was writing 20 pages a day with a reasonable degree of comfort.

Also, I did a lot of pre-planning on my book. I knew exactly where I was going and how I intended to get there. I highly recommend the Snowflake Method. Google it. It works.

Do you plan to (eventually) submit the result for publication? If so, how much additional work do you expect to do?

Yes, that was always my intent. However, on Dec. 1, 18000 words will automatically go into the recycle bin. But with that said, those 18000 words revealed so much of my characters that just having created those facts breathed a depth into the character's actions that forced me to sit down and revise plot at 35000 words.

Did you participate in the NaNoWriMo community? How do you think the community aspect affects the experience?

I do. I've always been a strong "online" contributor. It falls back to the fact that I really don't have a "real" life right now. I'm raising two boys with autism and I have one very busy 13 year old girl.

What do you get from participating in NaNoWriMo that you couldn't get from setting your own writing targets?

An entire class of participants for a class action carpal tunnel syndrome lawsuit against Nano in December? :) I mean , really, shouldn't there have been a disclaimer issued?

Would you recommend the experience to other writers, published and unpublished?

I would "If". If you are willing to truly break from the gate and write without looking backwards, even once, Nano can provide a very freeing forum in which it becomes fun to do so.

If you were in charge of NaNoWriMo, what rules/parameters would you set?

I've been very happy with Nano as it is currently run. I would like to see Nano open their website to charities of choice. Next year, I want to Nano Words for the Wordless (people with severe autism), but right now the site does not offer that choice.

Also, the honor system method does concern me--I have worked my butt off--but then again, I haven't verified my own word count, and I won't until Nov. 30. My book isn't done yet. I still have thirty thousand words ahead of me. I won't allow myself to verify until I have typed "the end".

Training for NaNo. This has to stop. Next there'll be a pre-game show on ESPN, right after the Spelling Bee.

Interview: Stephen Blackmoore on NaNoWriMo

Stephen Blackmoore is curiously without biography. I couldn't be bothered asking him, because if he was remotely interesting, he would've posted a bio on one of the two blogs he runs/contributes to (a man with no bio and two blogs is clearly compensating for something).

He loves writing about criminals at L.A. Noir, much more than he likes writing about himself at Slap the Monkey (I told you so). He also writes short crime fiction, the shortest of which can be sampled at Flashing in the Gutters.

He's also a cheating cheater, like his alchy friend Daniel Hatadi. Both flouted the rules of NaNo by using the challenge to work on works-in-progress. I tell ya, if you can't take an anonymous, prizeless internet challenge to write the first draft of half a novel seriously ...

The curse of the NaNo is bittersweet, though: he's about 35,000 words short of the target this year. He wrote more for this interview.

How many times have you participated in NaNoWriMo, and what was the result?

Three, I think. Though only once seriously. I did my 50,000 words and let me tell you, the end result was unpublishable crap. Really, truly horrendous. But then all rough drafts are, so I might do something with it later. Like line the birdcage.

What value do you place on completing NaNoWriMo?

That's kind of a tough one. I'm doing Nano more as an enforced deadline than to try to reach 50,000 words. It's less about Nano and more about my personal writing goals.

Nano has been useful because it's an outside impetus and a focused deadline. If I were in the middle of a rewrite or other writing projects I probably wouldn't do it. But for completing a rough draft it's useful. It forces me to sit down and get the work done and be surrounded by a bunch of people trying to do the same thing. Just knowing that I'm not alone is a big help.

How much time will it take to write 50,000 words? How do you divide the workload across the 30 days?

I did it in 24 days the one time I completed. Whether I hit 50K [this time] remains to be seen. Frankly, I don't think it's very likely. I'm way behind that goal (since I'm not counting the wordcount I had before November or I'd probably have aced it by now), but since I'm trying to write something cohesive that I can do something with, I'm not too worried about it.

Do you spend any time editing/redrafting the work-in-progress during the month?

Since I'm doing this with a particular goal in mind I'll sometimes find myself going down dead ends and having to double back. I don't really delete anything, though. Just mark it for deletion later and move on.

I save most of my editing for rewrites. As Hemingway said, "The first draft of anything is crap." I like quoting Hemingway because it makes me feel smart and literate. Provided that I ignore the fact that it makes me look pretentious and arrogant. Which, for the record, I am.

Do you plan to (eventually) submit the result for publication? If so, how much additional work do you expect to do?

I do. I expect to do quite a lot rewriting before it goes anywhere. Once I get the words "The End" done on the rough I'll be tearing the whole thing apart and writing it over largely from scratch. Right now it resembles a leaky boat put together by a gang of monkeys on crack.

What do you get from participating in NaNoWriMo that you couldn't get from setting your own writing targets?

Something between a nagging and a cheering section. Nano gives it the feeling of winning a bet. It's a psychological boost.

In the grand scheme of things, though, I'll get a lot more of a psychological boost out of saying "Why, yes, I WOULD like a 3 book deal, thank you for asking." And I'm only going to get that by writing the best book I can, regardless of any artifically imposed deadlines.

Would you recommend the experience to other writers, published and unpublished?

Unpublished, absolutely. Nano does at least two things exceedingly well.

One, it forces a writer to get their ass in the chair and stay there. It forces them to work through their blocks, and figure out strategies for whacking their creativity into submission. Nobody gets a free pass.

The second thing is that it shows people that they can do it. Now, yes, I agree some people should not write. Ever. But the biggest hurdle for good writers is the perception that they can't do it. A lot of fantastic books have never been written because someone with a lot of talent and the belief that they're not good enough didn't try.

If you were in charge of NaNoWriMo, what rules/parameters would you set?

Oh dear god. None at all. It is what it is and I certainly don't want to run something like that. I think some people take it too seriously, but that's their problem not the problem of the people running it. It's fun and a challenge and I can only hope that enough people take it in that vein to keep it going the way it's been going.

His response to being interviewed?

Happy to oblige. I am nothing if not full of horseshit and opinions.

He said it.

Interview: S.Y. Affolee on NaNoWriMo

S.Y. Affolee is a pseudonym for a NaNoWriMo veteran, who's been blogging her experiences with the 50-in-30 game since 2001. She details her writing process extensively, which must be fascinating to a student of forensic literary analysis.

She passed 50k in 24 days, which makes her exactly half the word-producer that Heather is.

How many times have you participated in NaNoWriMo, and what was the result?

I've done NaNoWriMo since 2001 which means this year is my sixth. That's five 50,000+ word stories in first draft form sitting around collecting electronic dust with a sixth on its way.

What value do you place on completing NaNoWriMo?

I view the whole thing as a writing exercise. Sure it's fun and a challenge, but I don't get so worked up about it that I abandon my other responsibilities to pretend to be an unkempt and antisocial writer for one month (and reap the supposed "perks" thereof). There are no perks unless you count people looking at you funny if you happen to mention what you're doing.

How much time will it take to write 50,000 words? How do you divide the workload across the 30 days?

Hopefully I can finish before November 30 so I don't have to wrestle with the mad rush of "verifying" the 50,000 words with every other participant. I don't scrupulously look after the quota of 1,667 words per day or set specific goals. I like to have enough flexibility so I don't have to stress unnecessarily.

Do you plan to (eventually) submit the result for publication? If so, how much additional work do you expect to do?

No, I don't plan to publish my NaNoWriMo efforts. Because this is more of a writing exercise to me rather than something I'd want to inflict on the book buying public, I just leave the draft as it is. I'm primarily a short story writer-so there's always the possibility that I might borrow some ideas from my NaNoWriMo novels. But even short stories go through the wringer with extensive edits and rewrites before I even consider it finished.

Do you participate in the NaNoWriMo community? How do you think the community aspect affects the experience?

I think there's actually a certain dichotomy about the NaNoWriMo community. There's the online community and then the real life meet-ups-both have their benefits, but the atmosphere (to me, anyway) is quite different.

The online community has evolved from a chaotic, yet intimate hodgepodge from the Yahoo! Groups message board in 2001 to the chaotic and intimidating behemoth on the official site's forums today. The great thing now is that with so many participants, there's bound to be somebody who's knowledgeable about any conceivable subject. On the other hand, people are less likely to pay attention to any comments you make. This is probably why every year, I post less and less. In a lot of ways, the online community is a bit impersonal.

I've always had positive experiences with the regional meet-ups. I've been to gatherings in four different states throughout the years, and although the individuals were different, the goals were the same. I think the greatest benefit these meetings bring is accountability. If you actually know a participant in real life other than just some random blabbering on the computer screen, you're more likely to crank out those 50,000 words so you don't have to say you failed the next time you see them. Or at least that motivates me.

Would you recommend the experience to other writers, published and unpublished?

Absolutely. The motivations and goals of every participant are different and signing up for the challenge doesn't automatically make you a novelist, but there is no doubt that this will bring home the point that writing takes discipline.

If you were in charge of NaNoWriMo, what rules/parameters would you set?

I think the current rules are actually pretty fair. But perhaps the official stance does misleadingly glamorize the whole thing. I don't think people writing 50,000 words should be automatically labelled as authors and be pampered just because they're participating in this crazy challenge.

Although if I had to change any rules, I would totally lay the smackdown on the definition of what constitutes a novel. It has to be original, fictional prose. No fanfic, autobiography, non-fiction, or epic poetry. There's nothing wrong with wanting to write any of the above, but those are not original novels. There should be none of this namby-pamby "if you believe you're writing a novel, we believe you're writing a novel too."

It's refreshing to see someone so determined not to let the spectre of publication ruin a perfectly good hobby.

Interview: Mike Toot on NaNoWriMo

Mike Toot writes uninspired, mechanical prose. But then, he's paid to. He makes a decent living writing software guidebooks, if you assume "decent living" means he is able to eat without getting a real job. The Big Guy in Seattle even offered him a job (not personally, he's got monkeys for that), but he turned it down for the freedom to write fiction. This, of course, the kind of biography that only looks good after you're successful.

He's written nearly 48,000 word on his young adult fantasy novel for this year's NaNoWriMo (what is it with geeks and fantasy?). Not bad for someone who claimed to be quitting writing, back in May of this year.

How many times have you participated in NaNoWriMo, and what was the result?

Once, in 2004. Got to 12,500 words and quit about ten days in. I started with an idea that came to me complete. I was excited about it, but the more I got into the "just write it" phase of NaNo, the more my inner writer rebelled, finally constipating and not spitting out even crap onto the page. The story just wouldn't go any farther, and I quit.

It's an interesting problem for me: I write for a living, and can produce material on demand that's decent enough (in others' eyes) to get paid for it. With fiction, it's a completely different set of muscles that's used. While some cross-training benefit is available -- I know how to start a fire by rubbing two dry clichés together -- the fiction writing muscles are nowhere near as strong, and it takes me longer to feel comfortable with what I'm writing.

What value do you place on completing NaNoWriMo?

I don't place any meaningful value in completing 50,000 words, or on getting that many words done in thirty days. It's a tool, one to help me exercise my fiction muscles, and I fully expect to toss out half (or more) of what I've written and do it over. To the extent it helps me work on skills that weren't worked on when writing my guidebooks, it's valuable.

How much time will it take to write 50,000 words? How do you divide the workload across the 30 days?

I've learned that 2000 words is about the limit of what I can do; 3000 is a lesson in agony endurance.

Do you spend any time editing/redrafting the work-in-progress during the month?

Not at all. In fact, I re-read the last paragraph, and then pick up from there. I don't go back and fiddle.

Do you plan to (eventually) submit the result for publication? If so, how much additional work do you expect to do?

The answer is yes, and as much as the story needs. I'm a professional writer, and I write to pay the bills. I don't spec-write my other material; I get the contract up front and then do the writing. The novel market is a bit different, in that you need to have finished work product to get the first contract.

But I also have enough objective experience to know when my writing sucks and when it's good. Some stories just don't turn out. If that's the case, then it turns into drawer fodder. I won't send it out if it's only "pretty good" or "my Vampire: The Masquerade group liked it" or "my cat purred when I read it aloud to her." I'm not going to pour hours into it in hopes I can make it better. No sense in polishing a turd if I'm just going to flush it.

Do you participate in the NaNoWriMo community? How do you think the community aspect affects the experience?

I've posted, but I stay away from deep, involved discussions. In general I learn best by writing, not by reading other people talk about their own writing. Sometimes reading the other posts about writing is like being in junior high again: someone says, "I'm so ugly...." and everyone else chimes in, "No, you're not! You're cute!" Urgh.

What do you get from participating in NaNoWriMo that you couldn't get from setting your own writing targets?

I got a highly visible club I can use with two buddies, both of whom write well, to encourage them to get off their butts and start writing. I also think accountability towards others helps with my own writing. I've set targets before and not made them; and after a while I get tired of using Thomas Mann's excuse, "A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." Okay, so it's tougher for me to spit out the word count. Time to crap or get off the pot.

Would you recommend the experience to other writers, published and unpublished?

Yes, with reservations. I think people should feel free to try NaNo, write whatever they choose, and if they like it enough to try some more writing, then that's totally cool. Out of such simple starts are great works born. But the central conceit, that putting 50,000 words into one document constitutes a "novel" and makes the person writing it a "writer" or "novelist" has as much validity as a belief in Santa Claus.

Unfortunately many people think they can tell stories but they really can't. Hell, most people can't tell jokes, much less stories: they can't tell the setup to a joke so that the punchline makes sense, or they mangle the punchline after meandering through the setup. Yet these same people think they can sustain 50,000 words of story? I honestly wish them luck. Label them a writer? No way.

If you were in charge of NaNoWriMo, what rules/parameters would you set?

Put in a requirement that, if any work developed during NaNo is accepted for publication, 10% of the proceeds goes to a charity of the author's choice. This should help cut down on the number of Nano works submitted to publishers and keep the "novels" in deep, dark drawers where they belong.

For someone who clearly understands every reason to stop writing, I'm surprised he's still going. But I can see why he's on target to complete NaNo this year - judging from his responses, the man can pad.

Interview: Heather Dudley on NaNoWriMo

Heather Dudley is a Georgian fantasy writer, with an unhealthy obsession with dragons. She is a Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo, charged with the unenviable task of babying other NaNo's in her geographical area through their depression when the "Look at Me! I'm a Writer!" buzz wears off. I guess she's also the one who calls International House of Pancakes to book the local winners' party.

She blitzed NaNoWriMo this year, belting out 50,000 words in 12 days. (If you finish in under 15 days, Thomas Pynchon sends you a card.)

How many times have you participated in NaNoWriMo, and what was the result?

2006 marks my fifth attempt. Only my second win, though. The first year (2002) I completed the challenge in 14 days. The second: chose entirely the wrong novel to write. Heavily researched biblical fiction does not lend itself well to the let-loose spirit of NaNo. The third, personal drama just plain annihilated any attempt I might have made. The fourth (last year) I had a baby November 16. Hard to write a novel while pushing a melon out of your crotch. I did manage 14k before I had her, though.

What value do you place on completing NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo taught me to shut up and write. Quit fretting over perfect prose and just get the stuff down. I also haven't had trouble with writer's block since my first year. To quote Hemingway: "The first draft of anything is shit." NaNoWriMo gets that first draft out of the way in a hurry.

How did you reach the 50,000 words target in 12 days?

Too much free time. And typing 120 WPM. I also gave myself RSI in the process: Don't try this at home, kiddies.

Do you spend any time editing/redrafting the work-in-progress during the month?

Not one moment. I even made sure to write each chapter in a separate file to discourage myself from reading back. Too many people sabotage themselves by constantly re-writing before they even finish. What good does that do, exactly?

Do you plan to (eventually) submit the result for publication? If so, how much additional work do you expect to do?

Of course! I figure on at least two hours of revisions, plus four days of letting my friends tell me how wonderful it is, and it ought to be ready to go.

Seriously though, it'll be a long road to publication. This is only the first draft of many, many rewrites. It has potential. But I'm going to have to do a lot of mining to get to the diamonds in THAT story.

How do you think the community aspect affects the experience?

Community is the main reason the NaNoWriMo beast has grown to the proportions it has. Many people participate as strictly a self challenge. It's the camaraderie that draws people in. You're doing this insane event with tens of thousands of others, at exactly the same time.

I'm something of a know-it-all, and like to tell others what dumbasses they're being. So I frequent the Rules and Regs forum. It's also great because you can look at the excerpts people post, the plot synopses they try to get opinions on, and their awful, awful characters, and you realize that hey, your stuff ain't half bad after all.

What do you get from participating in NaNoWriMo that you couldn't get from setting your own writing targets?

Accountability. You've got a public humiliation in the works if you don't finish. No one will tell you that you suck, (in fact, there's a whole forum devoted to commiserating with other failures), but YOU will know that you suck. And that's a powerful motivator. It also forces to to work on a deadline... a very unreasonable, arbitrary deadline. Makes deadlines from editors seem gentle by comparison.

Would you recommend the experience to other writers, published and unpublished?

Definitely. I know of several published authors who use NaNoWriMo to give their own projects a kickstart. It's a great experience, something I think most people should try at least once. If for no other reason, than to realize that writing isn't as easy as it looks. Writing involves commitment, DAILY commitment. And if you can't cut it for 30 freaking days (1667 words a day is NOT that much), then you have no business trying to be a writer. Plus, it's just plain fun.

If you were in charge of NaNoWriMo, what rules/parameters would you set?

Really, I think they've got most of it just about right. Their motto should be "shut up and write, stupid."

What I hate is that it isn't against the rules to quote other people, just to quote yourself. Say what? You can write a novel in November, and you can't use your previously written prose, but you can quote an entire song, or even term papers, if you want to? What the hell kind of sense does that make? If YOU did not write it, then it shouldn't count. You can't say "I wrote 50k in November" if you write 45k and quote your favorite author for the other 5k. Just write the freaking book, already. It's like trying to cheat on an open-book test in school.

I'd also make killing the padding people mandatory. Someone in the rules and regs forum asked if he could quote a term paper he just wrote in his novel and have it count, and just say his character wrote it. Sure, it's not against the rules, but it strikes me as incredibly freaking stupid. Fortunately, he will never be published.

Her response to being interviewed by 101 Reasons?

If one writer stops clogging my future agents' slush pile because of this site... it's all worth it.

With more Municipal Liaisons like Heather, who needs eneNaNomies?

Interview: Daniel Hatadi on NaNoWriMo

Like any good interview with a crime writer should, this one has a twist ending.

Daniel Hatadi is a Sydney-based crime writer, with two natural advantages over others in the field: a cool, tough-sounding, symmetrical name, and a ruggedly handsome face, both of which will look great in hardback and softcover. He's the author of Danny Hawaii, perhaps the most famous series detective character who's only appeared in one story.

He's written nearly 27,000 words for this year's NaNo, way under target. Will he make it?

What value do you place on completing NaNoWriMo?

A friend of mine has put up a bottle of 12 year old Springbank single malt scotch whisky if I win. I place a lot of value on this.

How much time will it take to write 50,000 words? How do you divide the workload across the 30 days?

I write madly until just before the point where my girlfriend can't stand me anymore. Then I take a break. You could say my workload is mostly random.

Do you spend any time editing/redrafting the work-in-progress during the month?

In the first week I was guilty of going back and tweaking a few sentences for rhythm and correctness, but now I write like the wind. May the Lord have mercy on my chair.

Do you plan to (eventually) submit the result for publication? If so, how much additional work do you expect to do?

I imagine that after a few months of revision and workshopping I'll have something ready to submit. Can't see myself living off a bottle of whisky forever.

What do you get from participating in NaNoWriMo that you couldn't get from setting your own writing targets?

Sure, I'm a likable enough bloke, but since I started writing, my list of friends has dwindled down to something far less than 70,000. That's approximately how many people have entered NaNoWriMo this year. That's a lot of motivation right there.

Would you recommend the experience to other writers, published and unpublished?

I'd recommend absolutely everyone to do it just the once. To do it the second time you'd have to be almost paralysed by alcohol. Now where's that Springbank?

If you were in charge of NaNoWriMo, what rules/parameters would you set?

Since around half the entrants are writing in the fantasy genre, I'd allow them to continue a previously unfinished novel, as long they wrote 50,000 new words. Fantasy novels aren't taken seriously until you need a wheelbarrow to get the book home.

Thanks for your time.

My fingers are so calloused I can't feel my keyboard. A few extra words simply can't hurt me anymore.

All well and good. Like all great crime writers before him, driven by whisky. Calloused fingers. Numb to the pain. Prepared to drive his girlfriend almost to the point of not standing him anymore. He's like a young, breathing Mickey Spillane, with a soul patch.

Except earlier this week, he makes a shocking confession on his blog. He's not going to make it. He's way under, bogged down in plot details, and trying to spin it as a decision to focus on quality. He's readjusted his ambition to a paltry 35,000 words.

Bah. Spillane could do that in a weekend, after drinking a gallon of rum, and still go seven rounds with Hemingway in the alley behind a Key West speakeasy.

You'll notice, in the comments section of his post, there's no mention of a certain bottle of Springbank.

Interview: Simon Haynes on NaNoWriMo

Like all the best Australian science fiction writers, Simon Haynes was born in England. He is the author of the Hal Spacejock series of novels, with #3, Just Desserts, due out Jan 2007. He's also one of those harmless, benevolent geeks who writes free software, including tools for writers. He's written over 41,000 words for this year's NaNoWriMo.

How many times have you participated in NaNoWriMo, and what was the result?

I participated for the first time in 2005 and finished 6 days early with 51,000 words or so. It made me realise I COULD write a first draft every couple of months if I really had to. Mind you, I was stuffed for 6 weeks afterwards and had to go straight into editing Hal 3.

How much time will it take to write 50,000 words? How do you divide the workload across the 30 days?

1700 words per day minimum. When I get near a milestone I pull a little extra. For example, right now I'm on 22602 so if I write 2400 tomorrow I'll have broken 25k. I spend 2-3 hours a day on my 1700 words, some of it actually typing.

Do you spend any time editing/redrafting the work-in-progress during the month?

None at all, but I do insert notes and move the scenes around in yWriter. Otherwise I wouldn't come up with the new scenes I have to write to get the book done.

Do you plan to (eventually) submit the result for publication? If so, how much additional work do you expect to do?

I'm writing the fourth book in the Hal Spacejock series for Nano. The first three are under contract (with two published and one coming out in Jan 07) and I recently signed with an agent in the UK who is looking to get the books published over there. Given the success of the first two and the level of interest in the third, I think more books in the series are likely - although not if I don't write them. I handed in the final final manuscript for Hal 3 in September, so October was a month of rest and now I'm into Hal 4 with a vengeance.

Additional work? Months and months worth. Each of my published novels underwent 8 months of editing, on and off. There's much, much more work in the shaping and polishing than anyone with a first draft could possibly imagine.

What do you get from participating in NaNoWriMo that you couldn't get from setting your own writing targets?

Public embarrassment and humiliation. If I say I'm going to do something, in public, I have to do it. I've already bought Flight Simulator X as my completion present, and it's sitting above my monitor now, unopened. If I don't do the 50k words, back it goes.

Would you recommend the experience to other writers, published and unpublished?

Yes. Teaches you to just write without being critical of every sentence. Given what I said earlier about the huge amount of work I put into editing and rewrites, you can see why finishing a first draft is a useful first step.

If you were in charge of NaNoWriMo, what parameters would you set?

Calling 50k words a novel is daft, and they don't let you start with an existing work. I'd say participants should be allowed to complete last year's half a novel this year, provided they reached 50k last year.

As you can see, Simon Haynes could be a poster-boy for NaNoWriMo. He almost makes it sound like a good idea. It's hard to argue when the end result is a publishable novel.

I hope the next author is easier to mock.

Coming Soon: 101 Reasons vs NaNoWriMo

I've recently conducted email interviews with some participants in NaNoWriMo, to find out why they think NaNo is a good idea, and not a total waste of time, and possibly even talent.

The interviewees range from seasoned amateurs to genuine, honest-to-goodness got-paid-for-it published novelists. They can't all be utterly wrong-headed, can they? We'll see later this week, but for now, here's a taste of what was said:

"I used to have a (real) life. Honest. I swear."

"My fingers are so calloused I can't feel my keyboard."

"There are no perks unless you count people looking at you funny if you happen to mention what you're doing."

"Calling 50k words a novel is daft."

"Most people can't tell jokes, much less stories."

"Hard to write a novel while pushing a melon out of your crotch."

"I agree some people should not write. Ever."

Stay tuned.

NaNoWriMo Update: The Halfway Point

(Or Fifty Percent Over, Ninety Percent Shit.)

Participants in NaNoWriMo are probably all too aware that their month of finger-numbing drivel production is half over.

You should be over 25,000 words by now: if not, you'd best step up if you want one of those shiny web icons.

Heather Dudley completed 50k in 12 days, and yet according to her comments here seems to have a reasonable perspective on it.

Mike Toot is a shade under 31k, Simon Haynes is just under 29k; on target, guys, hope it's not shit.

NaNo's participants this year have produced 491 million words, in fifteen days. (60 million of those are adverbs.)

One one level, this is an absurd number - unless you're a slush reader for Harlequin Mills & Boon, you probably won't read this quantity in your lifetime.

But, if you factor in NaNo's estimated 75,000 participants, this is an average of 6,500 words. Guess a lot of people are finding out the hard way that writing requires work.

(I'm becoming convinced that NaNoWriMo is actually a covert distributed experiment, testing the Infinite Monkeys theory. They need more bananas.)

The Ninety Percent Rule, Applied

Let's consider your writing career through the lens of The Ninety Percent Rule.

• Ninety percent of writers do not even finish their novel.

From the numbers on the NaNoWriMo FAQ, around 15% of Nano's actually finish the first draft of their 175-page novella. But that's a flawed sample - participation in NaNoWriMo implies you think you're capable of writing high five figures of garbage in 30 days. Apparently 85% of people who think they can do this, discover they can't.

• Ninety percent of (finished) writers are unpublished.

Estimates of the number of slushpile manuscripts that survive to publication are usually less than 1 in 1000 (0.1%). Even allowing for the possibility most unpublished writers submit more than one novel in their lifetime, more than 99% will never make it.

• Ninety percent of (published) writers never earn out their advance.

"Earning out" is when royalties due on the number of copies sold exceeds the advance payment. You may already know this, but it doesn't matter because it will almost certainly never happen to you. Which sucks every which way, because according to one unscientific survey, the average fiction advance is (still) around $5-10,000.

One writer in a thousand makes enough money to pay for their printer ink.

More On Padding

Author Simon Haynes, who still believes in NaNoWriMo for some reason, tipped me to the user forum at the NaNo website, where the contents of next year's slushpiles and bottom drawers are slowly taking shape.

Dear God, the horror. They actually do discuss tips on shameless padding.

My favourites:

"Restaurant scenes with a large group of people are wonderful. You can detail what every person is eating."

"Have characters introduce themselves, with family history, to everyone they meet. Including grocery store clerks."

"Oh, and you could always have one character be hard of hearing ... so he has to constantly ask people to repeat themselves."

(I have a hearing problem. Asking people to repeat themselves is one of the most boring parts of life, let alone fiction.)

One NaNo veteran has taken it further and has a webpage devoted to padding techniques, including longwinded descriptions of each. His final point:

"XI. Don't actually set out to write something good."

Then what the hell is the point?

Reason #4: That's a Lot of Words

NaNoWriMo aims for a novel of 50k words, but they admit this more of a novella (~175 pages). A more typical novel is around 90k+. Stephen King routinely goes over 200k.

That's a lot of words. How long would it take you to write 50-90k words, even if you (shudder) aren't concerned about quality?

Georges Simenon, legendary Belgian mystery writer and legendary pantsman, could write 60-80 pages a day. He published 425 novels in his lifetime, 2-3 per month, and still had time to nail 10,000 women (so he claims).

You are, however, not Georges Simenon, much as you might've liked to be.

NaNo's need to average 1,666.666 words per day. You probably haven't written that much since your high school English exam. Realistically, you're going to need 2-3 hours per day to maintain this. 90 hours over a month, that's two working weeks.

If you have that kind of time, you need a better hobby. Even if you make it, you've just worked your ass off to produce the first draft of half a novel. Whoopee.

Reason #3: You Think Anyone Can Be A Writer

(jb, this one's for you!)

Putting 50,000 words in nonrandom order in 30 days makes you a "writer" in exactly the same sense that changing a hundred lightbulbs makes you an electrician.

This is NaNoWriMo's central conceit - the idea that you're a "writer" if you attempt their arbitrary challenge. They actually boast this in their FAQ. It's all about wearing the costume, the romanticised idea of a writer.

Whatever happened to wearing a cravat, not washing your hair, carrying a notebook full of scribbled haiku's and nursing the same cup of coffee all day? Now I gotta write something?

National No Writing Month

A group of delightfully wrong-headed people have, over the last few years, promoted the fallacy that 'anyone can be a writer' by calling November "National Novel Writing Month". The program encourages anyone with too much free time to write 50,000 words in 30 days, no matter how shitty the end result.

You may have heard it called by the clunky abbreviation NaNoWriMo - ironic considering its core principle of logorrhoea in extremis, but quite befitting the typical quality produced.

101 Reasons stands in defiance of this absurdity, and hereby dedicates the month of November to countering the arguments of anyone who thinks this is a good idea.

(Read all posts on NaNoWriMo.)